Pope Leo XIV, the former Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, waves to the crowds in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican after his election as pope May 8, 2025. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
Rihanna, Michelle Obama, Bad Bunny and … Pope Leo XIV.
Those were among the figures included in Vogue magazine's list of the 55 Best Dressed People of 2025, an unranked roundup of what the fashion outlet called "extremely fashionable characters" spanning actors, models, musicians and the leader of the Catholic Church.
In its entry on Leo, Vogue said the pontiff has become known for "breaking with the humble tastes of his predecessor, Pope Francis — but keeping his tailor and maintaining the papal legacy for fine-fitting liturgical vestments."
Pope Leo XIV wears a Chicago White Sox baseball cap during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican June 11, 2025. (OSV News/Reuters/Remo Casilli)
The magazine singled out Leo's first public appearance following his election on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, calling it his "best outfit of 2025."
Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass "for the care of creation" on the grounds of the Borgo Laudato Si' ecology center in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 9, 2025. (CNS/Cristian Gennari, pool)
Vogue praised the pope's appearance "in a red satin mozzetta cape and wine-red, gold-embroidered stole paired with a cross pendant on a gold silk cord," a look that marked a clear stylistic departure from Francis who famously appeared on the same loggia for the first time as pope in plain papal white and without the traditional mozzetta, a vestment symbolic of papal authority.
Beyond the mozzetta, Leo has broadly returned to pre-Francis papal attire, including wearing cufflinks and white pants beneath his cassock. Adding a modern touch, however, Leo regularly sports an Apple Watch.
Vogue's entry included a photo of Leo throwing on a Chicago White Sox cap at his general audience and another wearing dark green vestments, made for him in Chicago, to celebrate the first Mass "for the care of creation."
Pope Benedict XVI's red shoes are seen in 2010 as he arrives at Edinburgh Airport in Scotland. (CNS/Reuters/Derek Blair)
It's not the first time contemporary popes have been praised for their fashion sense. In 2007, Esquire magazine named Pope Benedict XVI "accessorizer of the year" for pairing his typical papal wear with his iconic red leather loafers.
The magazine's takeaway from Benedict's outfit was: "Have a signature," but, "remember that the whole red-shoes thing is already taken."
In its entry on Leo, Vogue also noted how Leo had also invited fashionable movie stars to the Vatican, including Monica Bellucci and Cate Blanchett, "in a bid to modernize the Church's image" as well as to "indulge his own cinephilias."
The magazine then ventured to guess where its readers could see Leo next: "Realistically: whipping around Vatican City in the Popemobile. In our dreams: working the Sundance Film Festival into his papal touring schedule (God willing)."
The National Catholic Reporter's Rome Bureau is made possible in part by the generosity of Joan and Bob McGrath.
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